Posted by Alfiya Yermukasheva
17 July 2025Written by Holly Roberts, PhD candidate on the NERC Red-ALERT CDT researching microfibres in the wastewater system, University of Exeter
On Tuesday, 3rd June, I had the pleasure of attending the Future Fibres Network event hosted at the iconic Design Museum in Kensington. One year after the network convened in the same place, this event marked a reflective milestone, allowing us to share the progress of the past twelve months, discuss insights from eight funded mini-projects, and spark conversation about what lies ahead. Tamara opened the day with a powerful reminder of how far the network has come, noting that what began as a collaborative ambition has now evolved into an expanding community of researchers and industry partners.
‘A year ago, we met here to talk about what we were going to do, and now we have the chance to see where we are’ – Professor Tamara Galloway.
Connecting Ideas, People and Places
Dr Shelley Kotze and Dr Ben Parker started by facilitating a MentiMeter session to capture the audience’s motivation for attending. Attendees were drawn from all over the UK at varying stages of their sustainable fashion journeys. Learning and networking were highlighted as key reasons for joining the event, with this emphasis on community and collaboration echoing through the day’s discussions. Importantly, the network isn’t operating in isolation. A growing online presence – via social media, a dedicated website, and a shared data repository, ensures transparency and collective learning.
Nearly £1 million in funding was distributed among eight interdisciplinary projects aimed at investigating and challenging the norms of textile production and waste, as well as identifying critical gaps in knowledge and practice. While a bottom-up approach that analyses gaps in design and environmental impact is vital, are there other areas we should also focus on?
A Hands-On Material Showcase
The All Cellulose Composite team placed a box on each table containing a portfolio of the materials they have developed. This 6-month collaboration between the University of Arts London, Salt, Anas Anam, and the University of Leeds focuses on transforming waste from pineapple leaves into innovative composite materials designed for technical industries such as automotive and footwear. By refining the composite process and optimising properties like tear resistance, tensile strength, elongation, and pilling, the team created materials with varying levels of flexibility. It was incredible to see and feel the versatility of these materials, displaying their potential across a wide range of applications.
Towards a Circular Future
The Unlocking the Potential of Post-Consumer Textiles (UP) project is a collaborative effort between the University of Leeds, UKFT, and ReLondon, presented by Rachel Singer, Circular Economy Advisor at ReLondon. The project addresses the challenges of textile waste, which currently relies heavily on exports and fragmentation. Highlighting a significant lack of policy and research on post-consumer textiles, the initiative aims to build robust evidence and explore systemic approaches by amplifying the voices of local authorities, collectors, sorters, graders, and small innovative businesses. By identifying gaps, revealing new opportunities, and assessing future technologies and industry ambitions, the project seeks to transform the textile waste landscape. Set to conclude at the end of July, their goal is to produce an academic paper, industry report, and policy insight note to guide the path toward a more circular textile economy.
Surfing Towards Sustainability
Peter Palmer from Circular Flow and Dr. Shelley Kotze at the University of Plymouth highlighted the significant environmental costs of neoprene, which is widely used in water sports, automotive, and construction sectors. This versatile material has a problematic end of life and generates a large amount of waste during manufacturing, with a wetsuit producing up to 30% waste. Currently, there is no neoprene recycling in the UK; it is either sent to landfill, incinerated, or sent to a recycling facility in Bulgaria. The Neoprene Recycling project investigates the feasibility of establishing a UK-based neoprene recycling facility and seeks to understand consumer attitudes towards purchasing and wearing recycled products. From exploring logistics and infrastructure to securing collaborations with innovative brands, the project is paving the way for a more circular and responsible approach to neoprene use in the UK.
Is Collaboration Key?
I may be slightly biased, having had the wonderful opportunity to participate in the CollaborAcademy project at University of the Arts London, led by Dr Rosie Hornbuckle — but it truly highlighted how essential collaboration is for tackling the complex challenges facing the fashion and textile industries. The project brings together doctoral students from environmental and materials sciences and fashion and textile design to explore both the possibilities and difficulties of working across disciplines. Through open dialogue, shared experiences, and honest communication, CollaborAcademy aims to make collaboration the norm, not the exception. One of its key outcomes is an open-source draft syllabus and practical toolkit designed to support meaningful conversations and aid effective collaboration. We discussed who could benefit from this course and what barriers might exist to implementing it in different contexts. But one thing was clear: if we’re serious about creating a sustainable, innovative future in fashion, learning how to collaborate effectively isn’t just helpful — it’s essential.
A Slice Of Hope
Break time quickly became more than just a chance to grab a tasty, sweet treat —it turned into a meaningful moment to connect and reflect. I caught up with fellow CollaborAcademy participants Helen and Katherine, and our conversation reminded me why events like this are so important. Despite the huge challenges ahead, these gatherings fill us with hope that people genuinely want to work together to tackle sustainability issues in fashion.
We talked openly about the barriers that can slow progress, from funding bodies that might hesitate to support certain projects, to the reluctance of some to collaborate with industries that carry potential negative impacts. Still, sharing ideas and experiences in a supportive space like this made those obstacles feel more manageable. This break was a reminder that meaningful change in fashion sustainability comes from community, collaboration, and honest conversations. And a little cake helps too.
Adding Sparkle To Your Life
We often use sequins to add a bit of shimmer to our lives, but behind this lies a serious environmental problem. Traditional sequins are typically made using non-biodegradable synthetic materials and toxic dyes. They’re small, shiny, and everywhere—from festival outfits to stage costumes—but their environmental impact is anything but tiny. Bio-based Sequins brings together the University of Arts London, the University of Exeter, and Sequinova, with Professor Mahbubul and the team at the University of Arts London testing various concentrations of cellulose and the addition of plasticisers, intending to make a safer and more sustainable alternative. Dr Ben Parker has been conducting numerous ecotoxicity experiments using Daphnia pulex to assess the toxicity of these new sequins. This project is a leap toward proving that shimmer and sustainability can go hand in hand.
The Dye Revolution
The colouration of fibres in the fashion and textiles industry comes at a high environmental cost, using vast amounts of water and chemicals, and contributing to microfibre pollution. But what if we could completely rethink the way we add colour to clothing? Colouration in Flow is doing just that. This innovative collaboration between the University of Leeds and Keracol is pioneering a method to dye fibres in situ during the wet spinning process.
Dr Joseph Houghton explained how the project applies principles of green chemistry to reduce dye and water usage, cut microfibre generation, and improve both space and time efficiency in production. Best of all, the colour intensity doesn’t compromise on quality, and the dyeing rig behind it all can be built with just a soldering iron and a 3D printer. The team hopes to release an open-source instruction manual, and conversations were started at the event around how to scale this technology for industrial use. It’s a powerful example of how sustainable innovation can start small and go big.
Would You Wear 100% Recycled?
Polyester holds enormous potential for textile-to-textile recycling—but we’re far from unlocking it. At the heart of a fascinating presentation from the University of Plymouth and Plan B Recycling Technologies Ltd was this core challenge: recycled polyester pellets often suffer from low quality due to organic contaminants in discarded garments. The Increasing Circular Flow team may have been preaching to the choir, as when asked, a considerable proportion of the audience said they would purchase recycled garments. However, less than 1% of textiles currently come from recycled materials. The big question remains: when and why would consumers choose recycled polyester? Would you buy a garment if it were 25% recycled? What about 100%? And honestly, as Professor Kate Goldsworthy pointed out, how often do we even read the labels? Making recycled textiles mainstream will take more than innovation—it’ll take buy-in, behavioural shifts, and serious collaboration. But with the right treatment and insight, we can transform polyester from a persistent problem into a circular solution.
Let Your Clothes Do The Cleaning
Activewear is a staple in most wardrobes—comfortable and functional, but let’s face it, frequently washed. Most of the audience admitted they wash theirs after just one or two wears. But there’s a stinky catch: performance fabrics are hard to deodorise, leading to the dreaded permastink that sticks around. Fabriotic, a collaborative project between Northumbria University, University of Plymouth, Newcastle University, and Procter & Gamble, have a mission to rethink how we care for clothes by using microbes in textiles to enhance circularity and reduce environmental impact.
By depositing biotics directly onto polyester, Fabriotic is exploring how garments could actively help clean themselves between washes. Imagine your clothes doing some of the work for you. This not only means fewer washes and less water and energy use, but also a longer life for your clothes and less ending up in landfill. It’s a bold, bacteria-powered vision for the future of fashion, including the development of biotic finished materials and a 12-wearer trial to evaluate performance.
A Journey Fuelled By Reflection
With a train journey ahead and some leftover goodies from the day at hand, I had the perfect moment to pause and reflect. During one of the final table discussions, we shared thoughts on the importance of working together and what the next steps might look like in each of our fields. Joined by the voices of Tim Cross (Plan B Recycling Technologies Ltd), Elliot Bland (The Microfibre Consortium), Dr Xinyi Guan (University of Huddersfield), and Dr Joseph Houghton (University of Leeds), the conversation was honest, energising, and forward-looking.
What stood out most wasn’t just the groundbreaking innovations or clever solutions; it was the sense of shared hope and motivation. Across every conversation and presentation, there was a clear drive to collaborate and tackle the environmental challenges facing the fashion and textiles industry. It’s not just about what’s possible—it’s about what’s already happening, and the collective energy pushing it forward.
